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An aereal view of the Ducal Palace

The Fundação da Casa de Bragança was founded at the behest of His Majesty King Manuel II, as stipulated in his will of 20 September 1915. It was established in 1933, one year after his death on 2 July 1932.

The last Portuguese monarch sought to keep the collections and the assets of the House of Bragança intact, so he requested the establishment of various bodies to serve this initial purpose, bequeathing all of his goods to the Museum of the House of Bragança, and thus to "my beloved homeland".

As such, the Portuguese Government passed legislation in order to comply with the King’s wishes. Decree 23240, drafted by the Ministry of Finance, was published in Series I, 266 of the Government Gazette of 21 November 1933, rendering the Foundation legal.